1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to outdoor cooking apparatus, and more particularly, to a unique portable cooking grill designed to overlie a conventional outdoor barbecue. The portable grill has a unitary cooking surface that includes both a griddle section and a charbroil section to allow for the simultaneous and efficient frying and charbroiling of food over the barbecue.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As used herein, the terms "conventional barbecue" or "barbecue" include any outdoor cooking structure designed for use in barbecuing food. The term is intended to include both wood receiving fireplaces and charcoal receiving pedestal-type barbecues in addition to any other commercially available fixed or portable barbecue, such as a hibachi. Typically, the conventional barbecue has a grate or grill overlying a pit within which the heat source, such as wood or charcoal, is ignited.
Many barbecues have grills designed with a simple, widely spaced wire or bar construction for charbroiling food. The wide spacing is presumably designed to maximize the passage of smoke, heat and/or fire to the food. However, such a design not uncommonly results in a barbecuer losing food between the wires or bars into the heat source. To prevent food from falling through the grill, many barbecuers use foil between the food and grill; however, this approach is an obvious nuisance.
Another drawback to conventional barbecues is that the grill provided can only be used to charbroil food. If a person wishes to fry food then a separate pan must be used. Also, the grill of a conventional barbecue often deteriorates substantially as the result of prolonged exposure to the elements and repeated use over a number of years such that its cleanliness for cooking food is suspect. Lastly, because of their design most, if not all, conventional barbecue grills are incapable of subsequently functioning as a food server.
The prior art includes numerous outdoor cooking devices for various specialized purposes. The following U.S. patents are representative: 3,330,204; 4,608,917; 4,646,711; 4,428,281; 2,559,243; and 1,435,747. None of these references, however, describe a portable cooking grill that includes a unitary cooking surface having both griddle and charbroil sections and that is designed to overlie a conventional barbecue.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,204 describes a cooking device which includes a griddle and one or more separate racks which are capable of assembly in several ways to adapt an outdoor camp stove for use in griddle cooking, broiling, or toasting as desired. The disclosed cooking device includes multiple independent cooking sections and is designed specifically for a camp stove. The device clearly does not comprise a unitary grill designed to overlie a conventional barbecue to facilitate both the frying and charbroiling of food.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,917 describes a combination stovetop broiler and griddle structure which is adaptable to either broiling or grilling food upon selection of the appropriate assembly. The structure includes a grilling surface defined by a plurality of elongated small angles in parallel spaced relation which are welded to transverse support bars. A separate one piece griddle is substitutable for the grilling surface when desired. Again, the patent fails to describe a unitary grill designed to overlie a conventional barbecue for frying and/or charbroiling food, nor, if desired, a grill capable of conveniently functioning as a food server.
Thus, there continues to exist a geniune need for a portable, unitary combination cooking grill designed to overlie a conventional outdoor barbecue and facilitate the simultaneous and efficient frying and charbroiling of food over the barbecue, and the subsequent serving thereof.